Saturday, April 29, 2006

Spanish national anthem backlash begins

Immigration: Thanks to a naive well meaning reggaeton British producer, he has managed to make the pro-illegals backtrack on this because it is a sign of disrespect.

CBS) CHICAGO A backlash is brewing Friday night over a Spanish language version of the National Anthem, just days before a major immigration rally hits the streets of Chicago.
The anthem was played on radio stations across the country on Friday night as a sign of solidarity, before coast-to-coast immigration rallies kick off on Monday.
And as CBS 2 Political Editor Mike Flannery reports, the backlash is coming from the President, and even a prominent Hispanic congressman. And the new version of the National Anthem is even getting an overwhelming thumbs down from listeners to local radio stations, those that broadcast in Spanish, as well as English.
After B96 FM radio played the Spanish version of the National Anthem, the station invited listeners to call in their opinions. Every single one was hostile.
One caller said, “It is the National Anthem. And it is the United States. If they want to become American citizens, I think they should learn it in English.”
Meanwhile, the five largest Spanish-language radio stations in the Chicago market all decided not to play the song, after receiving a similar overwhelmingly negative reaction from their listeners, who include thousands of illegal immigrants.
“A National Anthem is something that’s very sacred,” said Elisa Alfonso of Univision Radio. “That should not be touched. We support immigrant rights, but think is not the right way to do it.”
....U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) also spoke against the Spanish-language anthem.
“There's only one National Anthem. I think it was written in English,” Gutierrez said. “It's the only one I've ever sung. And I'm going to continue to sing it.”
Ald. Billy Ocasio (26th) was also critical of the Spanish-language anthem, saying, “I don't think they meant it in a bad way. But I think everybody now understands the National Anthem is in English.”
Gutierrez and Ocasio noted that the Spanish-language version of our National Anthem is actually the brain-child of a British music promoter.